Loopworm, an Indian (Bangalore-based) biomanufacturing company developing insect-derived proteins, closed a USD 3.25 million Pre-Series A funding round. The round was led by WaterBridge Ventures, an existing investor, and ENRISSION INDIA CAPITAL, a Japanese venture capital firm.
Founded by IIT-Roorkee graduates Ankit Alok Bagaria and Abhi Gawri, the Loopworm approach to insect protein has been producing recombinant proteins, a type of protein typically made by inserting genes into host organisms like yeast or bacteria to "instruct" them to make proteins of medical or industrial importance. Traditionally, this requires expensive equipment and energy-intensive bioreactors. Under its proprietary novel process, Loopworm bypasses this entirely by using silkworms as living factories to produce complex proteins, enabling faster, cheaper, and more sustainable production.
“Recombinant protein manufacturing has long been constrained by expensive infrastructure and slow scalability,” said Ankit Alok Bagaria, co-founder and CEO of Loopworm. “Our reactor-free approach using silkworms changes the economics entirely. Having proven the technology, we are now focusing on commercializing our recombinant protein production platform, initially targeting diagnostics, animal vaccines and other applications with lower regulatory barriers.”
“As biotech evolves, the demand for manufacturing platforms that combine speed, cost-efficiency, and scalability continues to grow,” said Abhi Gawri, co-founder of Loopworm. “Our silkworm-based platform is uniquely positioned to meet these needs with unmatched flexibility and affordability. With this new funding, we’re accelerating our efforts to make a meaningful contribution to India’s national bio-economy vision.”
Loopworm currently operates a state of the art 6,000-tonne-per-year insect processing facility in Bangalore. It is already exporting protein and oil produced from silkworms and other farmed insects to Europe, South America and ASEAN countries for uses across the aquaculture and pet food industries. Alongside its commercial growth in global markets, the company has made major technical breakthroughs, including successfully expressing complex proteins such as antigens and growth factors in silkworm pupae.
“Loopworm is testament to the dominant role Indian startups can play in the global biotech industry,” said Ashish Jain, partner at WaterBridge. “Their silkworm recombinant platform isn’t just novel, it’s a potential leapfrog moment for biotech in India.”
“For us, the investment represents both conviction in Loopworm’s platform and alignment with Japan’s strategic and biotech priorities,” said Harsh Deodhar, principal at ENRISSION INDIA CAPITAL. “Loopworm’s approach holds strong potential across multiple sectors in Japan, aligning well with the country’s sustainability goals and industrial biotech ambitions.”
India is ready to lead the next wave of industrial biotech, and Loopworm is building the kind of platform that could make that possible,” said Mark Kahn, managing partner at Omnivore. “We backed them early for their deep tech, and what they’ve built since is genuinely world-class.”
Loopworm has filed multiple patents on its recombinant protein production technology. It has received regulatory approvals for R&D-scale recombinant protein production and is building a broader compliance and IP framework. Its manufacturing plant is ISO 22000, GMP+, HACCP and EU Traces certified.
